2018 NBA Rising Stars Rookie to Watch: Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls
By Ryan Heckman
The Chicago Bulls made a blockbuster trade last offseason that ultimately sent Jimmy Butler off to the Minnesota Timberwolves — a move that was in the works for a while. Butler had been in trade rumors for what seemed like season after season, and the Bulls front office didn’t appear to have a whole lot of direction for a while.
In exchange for Butler, the Bulls received Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the first round pick that would end up being 20-year-old Lauri Markkanen out of Arizona. The seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft was a guy not a lot of Bulls fans had pegged to be in Chicago at first, so there was some skepticism involved from the get-go.
What has transpired since he was drafted, however, is nothing short of impressive. Markkanen has taken off in his rookie campaign, impressing not just Bulls fans, but the rest of the league as well. His rookie averages through the All Star break include 15.3 points per game — good for fourth among rookies — and 7.7 rebounds per game, tied for first among rookies with Ben Simmons.
“I’ve had good games. I’ve had bad games,” Markkanen told the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t know if I’ve had a really long period of time where I can’t do anything. If my shot isn’t falling, I’m trying to do other stuff to help the team.”
It’s clear his desire is to be a jack-of-all-trades type of guy in order to put his teammates in the best position to succeed and, ultimately, win games.
Markkanen has also drilled 112 buckets from downtown which ranks second among rookies only to Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz.
He has impressed the coaches so much this year that head coach Fred Hoiberg has made it clear that Markkanen needs to take more shots. As a rookie, that’s a great trait to have — the head coach already trusts you and wants you to be a focal point immediately.
This weekend, Markkanen will compete in the NBA Rising Stars Game along with Dunn. Markannen has shown the ability to light up the box score in a hurry, and it wouldn’t be any surprise if he took home the MVP of the night.
All he needs to see is a couple of shots fall early, and his teammates should know that it’s time to keep feeding him. Of course here at Da Windy City, we are more affixed to Markkanen than most, but our prediction stands as follows: Markkanen will take home the Rising Stars MVP.